New Marshfield residents should expect a survey in the mail as Athens County and DLZ, an engineering firm, try to determine whether that part of the county meets new state funding guidelines for a proposed sanitation sewer project.
During Monday's Athens County Commissioners meeting, DLZ engineer Gary Silcott, who also is the US 50 Sanitation Sewer Project manager, noted that the state recently issued new guidelines for determining eligibility for funds for sewer infrastructure projects.
Because of the changes, a survey will go out to New Marshfield residents that will help determine what kind of funding the county can receive if the project moves forward.
Meanwhile, Silcott, the commissioners and community leaders from the Stewart/Guysville area will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 20 at Federal Valley Resource Center, 8225 State Route 329, Stewart. The meeting will be held to discuss the possibility of providing sanitary sewer to the area based on a study the commissioners completed and interest from area residents.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has made an effort to have state residents move away from wells and septic systems toward a public sewer systems.
According to the Ohio EPA, it is estimated that about 31% of all household sewage treatment systems throughout Ohio are experiencing some degree of failure due to poor maintenance or age. Failing systems can discharge untreated sewage leading to potential exposure to harmful bacteria and pathogens that can cause public health concerns and threaten the environment.
If a sanitation sewer project is approved and installed, residents living near the pipelines will have to hook up their homes to the system using a contractor approved by the Athens City-County Health Department. The contractor will also properly dispose of the septic system.
In the past, qualifying families received funds from the United State Department of Agriculture for the hook-ups. The county, through the health department, also helped residents with the cost using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
In matters related to the US 50 sewer project, Silcott said that Projects 6 and 7 are about 95% complete.
“We have about 729 feet of pipe to be installed and we’re done,” he said.
He said that the overall project is currently under budget. He suggested that the commissioners consider whether to move extra funds into a debt reserve fund to help pay off the bonds used to pay for the project.
The commissioners typically meet at 9:30 a.m. every Tuesday in the courthouse annex, in the second-floor conference room.
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